The Good Boys
by Tatzelwurm
Summary: Benjy "Boomtown" Bakowski wants out of Jared's raider gang. Benjy's no idiot. He's run with Gunners, with Raiders. He knows the lowlife like the back of his oil blackened hand. He's bad but he ain't that bad. He's heard of The Good Boys. They ain't like other Raiders, people say. They're evolving. They're clever. They're Good. And Benjy wants in.
1. Prologue

"I have to get outta here, Lonnie. I can't stay in this fuckin' place anymore." It seemed like such a long time since he'd said those words. He remembered exactly how Lonnie had looked at him when he'd said them too, the calculating expression that fell on her hard face. They had been guarding the old sewage pipe, just them and the quietly humming turret. There hadn't been many ferals that night and it had been all quiet for a good hour or so. It was in that quiet that he'd known for sure it was time.

"Why?" was all Lonnie had said, in a toneless voice. He'd shaken his head, looked around at the filthy, rusting walls of the pipe they were standing in. He hadn't wanted to say. Lonnie stared at him for a while, waiting until the silence had grown tense and uncomfortable before saying, "It's Jared." It wasn't a question.

He had nodded. "It's Jared. But it ain't just Jared. It's what he's doin'. It's the chems. It's the lurin' people in with 'em. It's the experiments, Lon', it's his obsession with that old lady who thinks she can see the future. I can't do this anymore, I can't keep actin' like workin' for him makes any fuckin' sense. Like it ain't insane."

Lonnie had sniffed, said nothing, and he'd asked, "Are you gonna shoot me now?" But she'd just replied, "You still got too much Gunner in you, Boomtown. Shoulda seen it before. You always looked fuckin' weird in Raider gear. You're bad, but you ain't really all that bad. You got some o' them morals. They're gonna get you fuckin' killed. Especially if you stay here." She had fixed him in her hard glare. "You gotta plan?" He had nodded, "Yeh. The Good Boys." Lonnie had snorted and said in a tone as close to mirth as the hardened raider could muster, "Why ain't I fuckin' surprised?" and then, "You gonna be ok?" he'd nodded, "Yeh." Lonnie had shrugged and said, "Well you better go now then, you stupid pup, before Jared catches wind of this. You got all your shit? Got Violetta?"

"Yeh. Thanks Lon'." She'd only replied, "Fuck off Boomtown, and don't come back."

It seemed like such a long time ago, but really it couldn't have been more than three days, he was sure of it. He'd gotten out of Lexington fine, left the Corvega plant, and the Super Duper Mart and all those fucking ghouls, and Jared, and Lonnie behind him. And he'd begun to head towards the coast, because he'd heard that's where he'd find The Good Boys, and their territory, a place called Avalon. They weren't like other raiders, he knew that much. Stories had been circling the Commonwealth since back when he ran with the Gunners. _That Dokter Good, and his men,_ people would say, _They're a new breed of raider. They're evolving._

He hadn't told Lonnie that he didn't actually know where exactly Avalon was. He doubted she'd have tried to talk him out of going, she didn't really give that much of a fuck. It had been a pride thing really, he'd wanted to set off looking like he knew what he was doing. He didn't.

His first night out in the quiet of the Commonwealth went fine. He climbed a high tree and tied himself to a branch and ate a tin of spam. He even slept a few hours. The day had dawned sunny and clear of radiation storms. A good day for the journey that was in it, he thought. But it wasn't.

The Yao Guai took him completely by surprise. One second he'd been peering up at the wreck of the old overpass above him, wondering how such a huge and heavy thing had managed to stay standing for two hundred years. The next, there was a roar and a searing pain in his right shoulder and back, and he nearly dropped Violetta.

He was lucky. He had a fairly good pipe rifle with him and he managed to swing it up left handed as the mutated bear leapt for him. By fluke, his bullet found the Yao Guai's eyeball, easily piercing it and smashing into the creature's brain. The huge thing fell to the ground, and then he fell to the ground too.

He didn't want to look at his shoulder. He didn't have to, to know something was really, really wrong. He felt stupid. He'd been too optimistic about his journey, let his guard down. If he'd still been with the Gunners, that kind of lax behaviour would have been completely unacceptable. As it was now, he feared it had cost him his life. The dirt around him was red with blood, his and the Yao Guai's. Soon it would draw all manner of nasty scavengers and they'd eat him whether or not he was dead by that point. He had to get out of there.

How he'd gotten back to his feet with all his gear and Violetta on his back, he'd never know. How he then managed to keep on walking for another full day was even more of a mystery. He had no idea where he was, where he was going, or if he was even going to make it. All he knew was that he could barely feel his right arm, that Violetta was getting heavier and heavier on his back, and that he thought maybe he could smell the ocean…

"Holy, fuck, Haimes, get a fuckin' spotlight on the guy so's I can fuckin' find him. He looks dead already."

The shout startled him. He hadn't even realised that he'd still been walking. He opened his eyes. It was night-time now, but a bright light was being shone directly at him. He wasn't able to move his right arm. He fell to his knees.

He was staring at the dusty ground when the sound of running footfalls approached him. Two people, he thought, but only one voice spoke, the same one that had shouted earlier. "Ah shit lookit him. He's lucky you spotted him when you did, Dandy. Fuck. Alright. We gotta get him in to see Nightingale. You carry his gear, I'll carry him."

He felt his gear and Violetta being lifted off his back, and made a weak noise of protest. Then he felt someone duck under his left arm and get a tight grip on him. The person lifted him to his feet and began to half drag, half carry him along, the bright light of the spotlight following them as they went.

"You're some stupid fucker, you know that, kid? What you doin' out there, runnin' around on your own?" he managed to register the question and remembered what it was he was doing. "The Good Boys." He murmured feverishly, "I want to be a Good Boy."

The person carrying him snorted. "Doesn't everyone, kid."


	2. Chapter 1

Consciousness came back to him slowly, and when it did, it was accompanied by no small measure of pain. His entire right arm and part of his back ached dully, right down to his bones. He opened his eyes slowly, and realised he was lying down. He was in a room lit with bright daylight, walls clean and the paint still relatively white. There was even unbroken glass in the window.

"The kid's awake, Miss Nightingale." The voice came from his right, but he found it too painful to turn his head towards it. In response to whomever had talked, he heard the rustling of clothing, as if someone had stood up, and then footfalls on the tiled floor. The sound walked around the bed he was on, and it was accompanied by a person, who came to stand next to him, and peered at him closely.

"Good to see you ain't dead." The person said. She was a red-haired woman, tall and gentle-faced, dressed in a clean shirt and jeans. He looked up at her, confused, and asked, "Who are you? Where am I?" The woman reached behind her and pulled a chair up to his bedside, its metal feet screeching slightly on the tiles. She sat down on the chair and said, "I'm Nightingale. And you're in Avalon."

It took a second or two for her words to sink in, and when they did he frowned. "You mean, Dokter Good's Avalon?" he asked. Nightingale nodded, "Yep, Dokter Good's Avalon." He was even more confused now, and he frowned as he looked her up and down. Then he asked, "You're a raider?" Nightingale shrugged, "I guess so. Technically speaking, I don't actually do any raiding. I'm the medical specialist here in Avalon. But yeah, we're raiders here. Just like you, if your armour and gear were anything to go by. Nice missile launcher by the way."

"Her name's Violetta." He said, involuntarily, and then, "Where's all my stuff?" Nightingale smiled a half smile and said, "It's safe, you'll get it back. Violetta too." Then she looked up, past him and called, "Nurse Lucy, could you bring our patient's clothes over? I'm sure he'd like to dress now that he's awake." It was only when she said this that he realised he was totally naked, though mercifully covered with a blanket. A whirring met his ears as a robot hovered into view. Her white paint told him she was a Miss Nanny, and her eye stalks buzzed as she focussed on him. She was carrying a bundle, which he recognised as his road leathers and boots, and when she saw him looking at them, she held them out and said, "All clean, buddy, and stitched up where that Yao Guai took a slice out of ya. Congrats on the not dying thing."

"Yeh. Thanks." He said, and made to sit up. It was difficult, and Nightingale didn't move to help him, probably knowing he would have refused her help had she tried. However, she did say, "You lost a lot of blood kid. Didn't know if you were gonna stick with us for a while there."

He finally looked down at his arm and shoulder then and was slightly relieved to see it completely swathed in bandages. He hadn't really been up for looking at whatever horrific damage the Yao Guai had done him. "How bad is it?" he asked. Nightingale leaned back in her chair and said, "I ain't gonna lie to you. I thought you were gonna have to lose the arm. Lucy and I managed to save it, but I can't guarantee you'll have full use of it. Or even if you'll have any. It might still come down to cutting it off."

He looked up sharply, a bolt of distress flashing through his chest. "No." he said, and Nightingale raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and continued, "I need it. Violetta, my missile launcher, she's my thing, ya know? That's what I do, I blow shit up. I can't hold her with one arm." Nightingale studied him for a few moments before asking, "What's your name, kid? What'd your last gang call you?"

"Boomtown." He said, "They called me Boomtown."

Nightingale glanced at Nurse Lucy and then said, "Well, Boomtown, you ain't gonna be making anything go boom anytime soon. I'm gonna advise you don't try picking up your dear Violetta until that arm of yours is totally fixed. If and when that happens."

But Boomtown shook his head again. It was like she didn't understand or something. "But I'll be useless with just one arm. Raiders don't keep useless people around." At this, Nightingale snorted, and took his road leathers and boots from Nurse Lucy. Handing them to him, she said, "You might notta heard, but The Good Boys ain't like other raider gangs. You won't be getting executed for losing an arm. Now get dressed. Someone wants to meet you."

And with that, she left the room, Nurse Lucy hovering out behind her. Boomtown sat without moving for a minute or so. This wasn't what he'd been expecting when he decided to seek out Avalon. Though now he thought about it, he didn't know what he'd been expecting, not really. Not this. Not a clean bed and clean bandages in a clean room with glass in the windows. Things like that were unheard of, especially when you were a raider. And these people were raiders. Boomtown looked around the room, at the shelves of medical equipment shining in the sunlight filtering through the window. He supposed the things he'd heard about The Good Boys were true. They weren't anything like other raiders. They were a new breed entirely.

Boomtown dressed in his road leathers as quickly as his currently useless arm would allow him to, and noticed as he did so that Nightingale and Nurse Lucy must have bathed him while he was unconscious, not an enviable task considering his previous employment's hygiene standards. For the first time in a while he could see his actual skin colour without the near constant coat of motor oil and grime that usually covered him. He thought that maybe this was the first time he'd been properly clean since he left the Gunners, roughly two years before.

Despite his arm, he managed to get his leathers and boots on, though not without a considerable amount of pain. Again he felt that pulse of fear go through him. He didn't want to lose his arm. He couldn't. He looked down at his hand and tried to make a fist. His fingers twitched, but the pain was too much and he couldn't do it. Boomtown swallowed his fear and headed towards the door.

Exiting the room with the bed, Boomtown found himself in a small office, cluttered by a small metal desk and far too many filing cabinets. Nightingale sat behind the desk, making notes on a piece of paper in a folder. Nurse Lucy was organising a drawer of files, and humming mechanically to herself.

Nightingale looked up at him and put down her pencil. "Now, ain't that better? You don't scrub up too bad, kid. Dokter Good might make good use of you yet. Now c'mere. Let's put that arm in a sling so it ain't just dangling by your side all useless, like a leg o' radstag hung up to cure."

Though he tried to keep his face neutral as Nightingale strapped his arm across his chest, the pain was really quite bad, and he felt a sweat break at his hairline. Nightingale obviously noticed because when she was done, she gave his good shoulder a brief pat and said, "You're gonna be in a considerable amount of pain for a good while, kid. But don't worry, I can help." As she said this, she picked up a hypodermic needle that had been on her desk, and tapped the bubbles out of it.

Immediately, Boomtown held up his good hand and took a step backwards, almost bumping into Nurse Lucy. "Whoa, what's that?" he said, eyeing the needle suspiciously. Nightingale gave him a weird look and said, "It's just Med-X kid. It'll help with your pain." But still Boomtown stared at the hypodermic needle warily. Images of Jared driving similar needles into the necks of terrified junkies rose in his mind. Experiments Jared had called them. Those experiments had always made Boomtown feel sick.

"Yeah, but it's just Med-X, right? It ain't cut with nothin'?" he still hadn't relaxed at all, and Nightingale was looking very confused. "Jeez." She said, "I ain't never seen a raider who didn't want to take Jet, let alone Med-X. Lucy, wanna tell Boomtown here exactly what's in this shot?"

The robot whirred forward as if leaning reassuringly over Boomtown's shoulder, and said, "Sure thing, Miss Nightingale. Med-X is a potent opiate analgesic that binds to opioid receptors in the brain and central nervous system, reducing the perception of pain, as well as the emotional response to pain. Essentially, it is a painkiller delivered by a hypodermic needle. I'd take it if I was you, kid. That arm's gonna give you nothin' but agony without it."

Boomtown said nothing. Nightingale waved the needle she still held aloft. "I swear to you kid. This ain't your usual raider grade shit. We get our stuff from Diamond City, from respectable folk. This ain't cut with nothin' dangerous. It's just Med-X, and right now, you need it. You're no good to anyone if you're in too much pain to do anything. And you want to make a good first impression. Better to do that on a bit of a morphine high, than rolling on the ground in agony."

She held out her hand, expecting him to give her his good arm. "I promise, Boomtown. I won't let you get addicted. Here in Avalon, we only take chems when they're needed. So quit being such a fuckin' pussy and let me help you."

Boomtown huffed, and rolled his eyes, but held out his arm to Nightingale. The medic shook her head in an exasperated fashion and pushed his sleeve up. Boomtown did his best not to look away as she pushed the needle into a vein in the ditch of his elbow, and pushed the plunger. The contents of the syringe emptied dully into his blood and he found himself feeling slightly grateful. His arm really was hurting.

When she was done, Nightingale handed the used syringe to Nurse Lucy, who immediately placed it in a sterilizer contained within her own body casing. Boomtown ran a hand gently over his bandaged arm and asked, "What now?"

Nightingale was rubbing her hands together absently when he spoke, and she looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. "Now, Boomtown, you're gonna go met the infamous Dokter Good."


	3. Chapter 2

Boomtown said nothing, hoping his apprehension at meeting the leader of The Good Boys wasn't too obvious. Nightingale didn't seem to notice though, as all she did was turn away from him and walk to a door that looked like it led out of the building. Opening it, she stuck her head outside and called lazily out into the world

"Lazlo!" She shouted, "Get your ass over here! The new kids awake." Boomtown thought he heard a muted shout in response, and Nightingale pulled her head back in the door and turned to him. "Lazlo's one of our gate guards. He's the one that ran out to get you, carried you back in. Between you and me, I think he's kinda impressed that you've lived through gettin' mangled like you did. He's a nice guy. He'll look after you." As she finished talking, Boomtown heard the sound of someone walking towards the medical building, and a moment later, a man stuck his swarthy and prematurely grey head through the door.

"Holy, shit, would ya look at this fuckin' kid here? Torn to fuckin' shreds and walkin' around like he's hot shit. You ain't even lost ya arm! That's crazy, man, that's crazy." Boomtown gave the guard called Lazlo an uncertain nod and said, "Yeh. Hi."

Nightingale cocked her head in Boomtown's direction and said, "Laz, this is Boomtown. He's 'bout as healthy and patched up as Lucy and I can get him for now, so why don't you take him to see Dokter Good." Lazlo nodded enthusiastically at this idea. "Yeah, yeah. Sure thing. Hey, he cleans up pretty well, don't he? The Dok might even have him out spreading the Good News with Shiner and the lookers." Nightingale nodded and said, "Sure thing, Laz, whatever you say. Now get outta here, I got shit to do."

Lazlo grinned widely and gestured to Boomtown. "C'mon, kid." He said, "I'll take ya to meet the boss." Boomtown glanced at Nightingale, but she had already turned back to her work on the desk, so, not wanting to look nervous, he casually went to follow Lazlo out of the building.

The yellow-white sun was shining harshly, high in a sickly blue sky. Boomtown squinted against it as he stepped out onto the dirt, trying to take in his surroundings. From what he could tell, he was now standing in a wide, dirt square, surrounded on all side by shacks, junk fences and fairly well preserved pre-war buildings. The middle of the square housed a number of water pumps, and at one a couple of raiders were chatting strangely amiably, while a dog licked water off the pump. Around the wide square, more raiders went about jobs and chores. While they looked more like raiders than Nightingale had, hefting weapons and armour-clad, Boomtown did notice they seemed to carry themselves better than Jared's men ever had. They looked cleaner, clearer eyed, more alert. Somehow, they looked more dangerous.

Boomtown glanced at Lazlo, who seemed to be letting him take in his new surroundings. Lazlo himself definitely looked like a raider; shirtless and scarred, spiked metal plates strapped to his shoulders and forearms, a heavily modded pipe rifle on his back. But still, he was different to raiders Boomtown had seen before. He seemed peppy, like he had a natural bounce in his step. It was a weird thing to think, but Boomtown thought that he looked like there was more to him than raiding and violence. Which seemed rather unprecedented.

"So this is Avalon, huh?" Boomtown asked flatly, and Lazlo nodded. "You betcha. You'll get the real tour later. For now, we best not keep the Dok waiting." Lazlo gave him a toothy grin, and then set off across the square. Boomtown barely flexed the fingers of his injured arm, feeling the numbness of the Med-X setting in, before heading after Lazlo, pretending he wasn't nervous.

Lazlo led him to a big, old pre-war house that stood on the opposite side of the square. Its paint must once have been blue, and it was roofed with cracked grey slates. Lazlo trotted up the front steps, Boomtown behind him, and let them both into the big house.

It was cool inside, a desk fan on a table by the door blowing the hot air from outside cool again. Boomtown followed Lazlo down a narrow hallway, to a door at the far end, which Lazlo knocked on. A brief moment passed, and there was a leisurely call of, "Come in," from the other side of the door. Lazlo gave Boomtown an encouraging grin and then shouldered the door open, leading the young man into the room beyond.

"Sorry to interrupt, Dok." Lazlo said, "Only you said to bring you the new kid when he was awake, and here he is. His name's Boomtown." Boomtown stepped forward a little, head ducked in the same respectful/fearful way he'd behaved towards Jared. He stole a glance at the room, and the people in it, before looking back at the floor. The room was a spacious office, with shelves full of books and a huge wood desk. Behind it sat the sleekest man that Boomtown had ever seen. He wore a pale grey suit and had black, black hair, streaked white at his temples. Behind him stood a tall, broad-chested man, heavy browed and calculating. He too, was dressed in a suit, a navy one, which seemed really quite odd for a raider.

As Boomtown stared at the floor, the man in the grey suit surveyed him, before saying, "Boomtown, eh? You looking for an in into my Good Boys, young man?" Boomtown glanced up at Dokter Good, for that's who he realised it was, and said, "Yessir."

Dokter Good nodded and said, "I see. So why they call you Boomtown? On account of that pretty missile launcher you somehow managed to carry here?" Boomtown inclined his head. "Yessir. Violetta. I'm pretty handy with her, sir." Dokter Good cocked his eyebrows and said, "Even with your arm like that?" Boomtown said nothing, but infuriatingly, he felt his cheeks flush red. Dokter Good waved a dismissive, "No matter, young man, we'll find a use for you. You had a rifle on you too. Any good with that?" Immediately Boomtown nodded. "Yessir, pretty good, sir, on account of my time with the Gunners. Not as good as when I have Violetta in my arms, but I can do the job, sir."

Dokter Good seemed to ponder this for a few moments, nodding slowly, before he said, "Gunners, eh? I was wondering where you got your good manners. Very well. Lazlo, head to the North corner and wrangle Dandy down outta his nest. Bribe him with some gum if you have to. I want him to meet Boomtown here." Lazlo nodded, his usual grin on his face, and said, "I'll do my best Dok, but you know Dandy. Tryin' to get him to do somethin' that weren't his idea is like tryin' to herd cats into a bag of stingwings." With that, Lazlo turned on his heel, and marched cheerfully out of the office. Boomtown watched him go, still bewildered by the cheerful raider, until Dokter Good's voice brought him back to the room.

"So." the raider leader said, and Boomtown turned to look at him. "You always been Boomtown, or you ever had another name?" the question startled Boomtown a little. Sure, he hadn't been Boomtown back with the Gunners, but that was what raiders did, wasn't it? Give themselves a new name, something with bravado, something big?

"Uh, yeh. Sure, sir. I got another name." a small silence followed this before Boomtown realised he was supposed to continue. "Benjy," he blurted. "Uh, Benjy Bakowski sir. Though I ain't been called that in about two years." Dokter Good nodded and said, "Benjy Boomtown Bakowski. That's a good name. Isn't that a good name, Shiner?" He asked this of the hulking man behind him, who grunted. Dokter Good turned back to Boomtown.

"So, why do you want to be a Good Boy, Mr. Bakowski? Tell me your story." Boomtown fidgeted, "My story, sir?" Dokter Good nodded, "Your story, Mr. Bakowski. Where do you come from? How'd you end up here on my doorstep?"

Boomtown shrugged, resisted the urge to run a hand nervously through his hair, "Well, I was from Quincy, sir. But I'm sure you know what happened there." Dokter Good inclined his head solemnly. Boomtown shrugged. "I made it out, but the Gunners found me pretty quick. Offered me a choice. Die by them, or kill for them. Decided on the latter. Stuck with them til my squad clashed with raiders in Lexington two year back, and I… well I sorta snapped sir. Realised I was working for the bastards that killed my family, and I uh, I blew the squad all to hell with a missile launcher."

He paused at this, staring at the floor and then said, "That wasn't like me, to do that. Those Lexington raiders loved it though. Jared, the leader there, he figured I'd be good on his side. Invited me in, started calling me Boomtown. But Jared… it didn't work."

Dokter Good obviously saw his discomfort at the thought of his old leader because he said, "Jared. I've heard of him. Operates outta the old Corvega plant in Lexington. Nasty piece of work, he is. Obsessed with seeing the future, right?" Boomtown nodded, "Yessir. I had enough. And I'd heard stories, sir. About how The Good Boys weren't like other Raiders. And I thought maybe I wasn't like other Raiders neither. So I decided to try and find you."

Dokter Good nodded, very slowly, and Boomtown tried not to fidget. He was being scrutinised and it made him uncomfortable. Eventually, Dokter Good said, "Very well. I can see you're a clever enough kid, not some chem addled, lunatic scum. I'm gonna give you a trial run here in Avalon, see how well you fit in. Put you with one of my best men to get you settled in. In fact, he's the one that spotted you out there, all torn up, in the first place." As he finished this sentence, there was a smart knock at the door, and Dokter Good raised his hand. "Speak of the devil and lo, he shall appear. Come in!"

The door swung open, hard enough to almost crash into the wall behind it, and another person stepped into the room. The young man was tall and rangy, dressed in black leathers and minimal armour. He surveyed Boomtown through cold, grey eyes as he snapped the bubble-gum he was chewing. Boomtown found himself staring at this new stranger, for the sole reason that he had the most bizarre hair. While his scowling face was lean and hollow-cheeked, and his eyes were bruised darkly by purple shadows, his hair was that of a doll, shining, intensely curly, and the exact brown-yellow of razorgrain. Boomtown unconsciously ran a hand through his own short, black hair, and the stranger cocked a cynical eyebrow, before turning to look at the other men in the room.

"You wanted to see me, Dok?" he asked, in a tone so hard and bored it almost sound insubordinate. Dokter Good didn't seem to care however, as he said, "Dandy, just the man. This here's Boomtown. He's gonna be joining us, and I was hoping you'd do him the honour of showing him around. He was with the Gunners so he's not bad with a rifle. I want him in the nest with you tonight, learning the ropes. We'll need a new sniper in the west corner soon. Tom Tom's about to pop, and she'll be movin' to one of the settlements once she's had the baby."

Dandy didn't look happy about this, but he hadn't looked happy anyway. He glanced briefly at Boomtown, then back at Dokter Good, and said, "Right. Anything else?" Dokter Good shook his head, either oblivious, or pretending not to hear Dandy's icy tone. "That'll be all. Boomtown, I hope you settle in nicely. I'll be calling on you in a day or two to see how you're getting on. For now, relax, and get used to your new home. I'll send someone up to the nest with a rifle for you. Something a little better than what you staggered in with." Boomtown inclined his head. "Yessir. Thank you sir."

"And it's Dok, Boomtown, though I do appreciate the extra respect. I'll see you soon." As he finished talking, Boomtown felt a hand tightly grip his good arm, and Dandy forcefully guided him out of the office, slamming the door behind them. "C'mon," he said, "I ain't got all day."

With that, the raider named Dandy stalked out of the building and into the square. He stopped smartly and began to point at buildings, saying in a rough bark, "Mess hall. Medical building. Dorms. Food production. Water pumps. Armoury." Boomtown hardly had time to register all these buildings before Dandy was off again, marching towards a tall building in one of the square's corners. Boomtown caught up with him as he vanished inside and started up a set of spiral stairs inside. "So," he said, in an effort to be friendly, which he assumed was how these people operated. "Dandy, right? How long you been in Avalon?" but the curly haired youth didn't answer. Boomtown frowned a little but kept following him.

The stairs went all the way up the building, three floors, and opened out onto the roof. The sun beat down on them, and Boomtown squinted slightly. The roof was flat and had a small hut that seemed to contain a mattress and a chair. Dandy walked to where an extremely high quality sniper rifle was leaning against the hut, and picked it up, hefting it familiarly in his hands. He walked closer to the edge of the building. Boomtown was hesitant at first, but then went to stand beside him. They were quiet for sometime, Boomtown openly studying the other young man in a slightly bemused fashion, while Dandy staunchly ignored him.

Eventually, Boomtown looked away from Dandy and out over the Commonwealth. Avalon was set on flat ground, and from the roof, Boomtown could indeed see the ocean, less than a football field away from them. A large section of overpass stood between them and the sea, and several radstag were grazing on the dead grass beneath it.

"So you're the one that spotted me then?" Boomtown said, to which Dandy didn't reply. Boomtown shrugged, "I guess I owe you my thanks."

Finally, Dandy turned his head of curls and looked down at Boomtown, his grey eyes hard as rock. "You owe me nothing," he said in a flat voice. "I don't know what you heard about Avalon, but let me tell you. It's not a fairy tale. This town is going to burn your sorry heart into the ground and leave you in pieces and there ain't a damn thing you can do to stop it." With that, he snapped his gum, shook his head briefly, and raised the sights of his rifle to his eye, taking less than a second to aim. The gunshot cracked out over the land and one of the radstag dropped immediately, stone dead.


	4. Chapter 3

Boomtown's day on the roof with Dandy passed slowly, in a silence so thick and heavy, you could have sliced it with a machete. Boomtown got the feeling that The Good Boy's seemingly friendly ethos didn't stretch to Dandy, as the curly haired sniper hadn't had anything other than a scowl on his face since they'd met. Boomtown had met guys like Dandy before, ones that had no interest in making friends. He didn't have a problem with it, as long as Dandy's mood didn't get in the way of Boomtown learning to do his job properly. Boomtown decided he wouldn't speak to Dandy much that day; it seemed better to let the unfriendly youth get used to his presence first, like a spiky cat that had lived feral all its life. So Boomtown sat on a small stool outside the hut, and observed Dandy as he worked, studying him closely as the young man deftly manoeuvred his rifle, scanning the landscape for danger and occasionally delivering a fatal shot to any undesirables that got too close.

Boomtown tried not to worry about what Dandy had said, about how Avalon would "burn his heart into the ground". He didn't know what Dandy meant by that, but it was clearly nothing good. And yet, everyone else in the small town seemed happy with their situation. From his spot atop the building, Boomtown could hear bustle and laughter from the square down below. Boomtown let his eyes wander from Dandy's gun to his gaunt and scowling face. He found himself wondering what exactly the sniper's story was, what it was that made him so immediately and unfalteringly unwelcoming.

They'd been up on the roof for about an hour when the walkie-talkie that Dandy kept on his hip crackled into life. Dandy didn't acknowledge it, as Lazlo's voice fuzzily sounded out of the device, slate coloured eyes still scanning the land.

"Yo, Dandy." Lazlo buzzed, "You wanna ask the new kid if he'd prefer a hunting rifle or a pipe rifle? Tell him we got a good quality hunting rifle here, but if he'd prefer somethin' with more mods, I can bring him a jazzed up pipe like what he wandered in with."

Dandy made no move to retrieve his walkie-talkie from his belt and so Boomtown said nothing. A few seconds passed, and then, without taking his eye away from his scope, Dandy said, "Well?" Boomtown looked at him with an eyebrow raised and said, "Well what?" This earned an exasperated eye roll from Dandy and, putting down his gun, the sniper turned to look at him. "Do you want a pipe or hunting rifle, of course. By all means, take all day making up your mind."

Boomtown felt himself bristle a little at this and he said sharply, "A hunting rifle. Sick of pipe rifles."

Without acknowledging Boomtown at all, Dandy retrieved the walkie-talkie from his hip and said into it, "Hunting rifle. Now stop fuckin' distracting me, Lazlo, or I'll let the next feral I see live so it can tear up your sorry ass."

Lazlo, probably wisely, didn't respond to Dandy, and the spiky sniper grumpily put away his walkie-talkie and put his gun back up to his eye. Boomtown leaned back against the wall of the hut behind him, his injured arm laying across his chest. He studied the sniper for a few more moments before saying, "You don't really seem to like very much at all, you know that?" As he had expected, Dandy didn't look away from his scope. But he did cock an eyebrow and said, "I like bubblegum. And silence. So shut up."

Boomtown only snorted and shook his head, and the two went back to the same silence as before. A few minutes passed, the sun beating down from above, and Boomtown wondered if every day was going to be like this. Then he reminded himself that Dokter Good had said they would need a new sniper in another part of town. He wasn't quite sure that he was qualified for the job. He was an alright shot, and certainly better with long distance weapons than with anything close combat. But watching Dandy work, he could tell that he was nowhere near the same level as the rangy young man, and likely never would be. He ran his good hand over the bandages of his right arm.

Abruptly, the door to the roof access swung open, and Lazlo practically bounded out onto the roof. The spike clad raider was carrying a sleek looking hunting rifle and he trotted over to where Boomtown was sitting, squinting into the sun. "Afternoon, fellas," Lazlo boomed happily, clapping Boomtown on his good shoulder. "Any good kills today Dandy?"

As expected, Dandy didn't look up, but he said, "Well I thought I'd shot something that looked like you earlier, but here you are, unfortunately. Must have been a particularly disgusting feral. Shame." Boomtown looked up at Lazlo, trying to gauge his response, but the grey haired raider only laughed and said, "Yeah, go fuck a deathclaw, Dan Dan." With that, he promptly turned to Boomtown, holding out the hunting rifle to him. "Here ya go new blood." he said, "How 'bout you try this girl out for size, see if she suits ya."

Boomtown stood up, suddenly very aware of his useless arm. He reached out to take the rifle from Lazlo, and studied it. It was a beautiful gun, much more sleek and pretty than anything he'd seen or carried when running with Jared. It reminded him of the guns that the Gunners had. Good gear, military grade gear. Not easy to come by. Boomtown hefted the rifle in his good hand and wondered if he'd ever be able to use her.

Without looking at Lazlo, because he could feel the raider watching him, Boomtown lifted the rifle and tried to rest her on his good shoulder to peer down her scope. It wasn't easy, and he could tell immediately that there was no way he'd be able to get an accurate shot with one arm. He lowered the gun quickly, before he dropped her. His chest felt tight. He looked up at Lazlo, and could tell from the raider's expression that he knew very well what had just gone through Boomtown's head. Lazlo offered an encouraging smile, and said, "What you gonna call her? She's yours now, she's gonna need a name. All the snipers here get real attached to their guns. Even Dandy. What's your girl's name again, Dan?"

"Fuck off," said Dandy. Lazlo ignored him and said again, "Dandy, what's your girl's name?" Boomtown heard an irritated snarl from Dandy and then he said, "Aryll. Now fuck off." Lazlo grinned, and Boomtown looked at the sleek rifle in his hand and said, "I dunno yet. I'll have to see what kinda broad she is." Lazlo cackled, as though Boomtown's answer pleased him greatly, and said, "Thatta boy, Boomtown. Wait til you see if she treats you mean or not." He was smiling amiably, and so Boomtown offered him a smile in return, though he didn't really feel it, mind on his arm.

Lazlo left after that, after getting a promise from Boomtown that he'd join him for dinner later in the mess hall. Boomtown listened to the raider's footfalls fade as he descended the stairs. He studied the gun in his hand, turning it over. "What's your name then, pretty lady?" he asked it. Dandy snorted. Boomtown ignored him.

Boomtown went back to sit on the stool, and studied his new rifle. "Why Aryll?" he asked, but only got silence in return.

Time stretched on, the afternoon ticking by silently. Boomtown didn't mind. He was used to following orders and this was a whole lot better than guarding a sewer pipe with Lonnie. After a while, he stood to stretch his legs, and began to slowly pace the roof, holding his new gun, getting a feel for her. He could tell his movement was annoying Dandy, as the sniper's shoulders tensed anytime he walked past him, but Boomtown didn't care. Let Dandy be annoyed. He was just going to have to get used to Boomtown's presence.

Boomtown hefted the rifle onto his good shoulder, and then hesitated, before cautiously slipping his injured arm out of its sling. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his arm to grip the rifle, but the Med-X that Nightingale had given him was beginning to wear off at this stage, and the pain made him let out an involuntary whimper and drop his arm again. From his place behind his rifle, Dandy said, "Jeez, you ain't gonna start fuckin' crying are ya?" Boomtown studied his bandaged arm and replied, "No."

With a grunt, Boomtown lifted his arm again, and forced himself to hold the gun. He lifted the scope to his arm and tried to look through it, but his injured arm was shaking uncontrollably with the effort, and he couldn't see through it. He tried to steady his arm but the weight was too much and he had to drop it, uttering a quiet, "Fuck," as he did. From his place on the roof, Dandy let out a long sigh and turned away from his gun. He glared up at Boomtown and said in a steely voice, "Fucking stop. Put your damn gun down, you can't lift it now. You're gonna pull your damn stitches, and then you'll be back to square fucking one and it'll take you even longer to learn how to do your job. Which means it'll take me even longer to teach you how to do your job, and believe me, that is not a prospect I relish the idea of. So stop. Put her down. Don't be fucking dumb."

Boomtown glared down at him, not breaking from Dandy's stony gaze. But he did lower his gun, holding her by his side. He continued to stare Dandy down as he slipped his arm back into the sling. "I can't just sit here and do nothing." Dandy shook his head, "That ain't my problem." Boomtown said nothing. Dandy rolled his eyes, and pointed to Boomtown's gun. "Break her down," he said, "And put her back together. Then do it again. And again. Keep doing it til she knows you're the boss. And do it fuckin' quietly, I don't want to spend the rest of the day listening to you sighin' and cursin' and fuckin' annoying me."

Dandy went back to his gun, and Boomtown went back to his stool and set about taking his rifle apart. It wasn't easy with one hand, but it was better than doing nothing. He took her apart, laying all her pieces carefully on the roof, and then he put her back together again. She was a fine gun, but he didn't know yet if she'd let him be the boss, like Dandy said.

Over the next few hours, Boomtown's Gunner habits returned to him, and he found himself able to break the gun down in less than a minute. It wasn't a good time, but he put that down to having to do it one handed. He'd get better when his arm was working again. And it would work again. He refused to even consider the idea that he might have to lose it.

After a while, Boomtown realised that it was getting harder to see his gun as he put her together, and looked up. The sun was beginning to set, its burning heat finally relenting. Dandy still lay on his belly on the roof, snapping bubblegum. He'd lit a small lantern beside him and its low light flickered over him, making his scowling face look softer and younger. Boomtown wondered how old Dandy was. He thought maybe that Dandy could be younger than himself, perhaps even still in his late teens.

"You're staring at me." Dandy said, and Boomtown yawned. "Sorry. Ain't much else to look at up here." Dandy didn't answer, moving to check a small watch on his right wrist. "You should go." He said, "Dinners on around this time. Go eat. Get Lazlo to find you a bed. Get outta my hair."

Boomtown picked his gun up and stood, stretching. "You coming?" Dandy shook his head, "Nope." Boomtown cocked an eyebrow. "What, you don't eat? You just stay up here all night?" Dandy blew a bubble and said, "Some nights. Don't you worry about me, I got a bunk to go to. Now please fuck off, I've had enough human interaction for one day."

So Boomtown left, making his way back down the stairs, his new gun slung across his back. It had been a long day of doing very little, and he was indeed hungry, and tired. Boomtown made his way across the relatively quiet square, passing the water pumps, and headed towards the long, low building that Dandy had identified as the mess hall. He paused outside the door, listening. From inside he could hear talking and laughter, sounds of cutlery clanging against plates and music from a radio. It made him a little uneasy. Sitting on the roof had been fine. Quiet, near solitary, no need to put effort into socialising like a normal person. But that was what these raiders were doing. They were acting normal. And Boomtown didn't know if he remembered how to do that.

"Hey, new kid! Boomtown, you ready for some o' the best chow in the Commonwealth?" Boomtown turned around, away from the door, trying not to let his apprehension show on his face. Lazlo was crossing the square, accompanied by two other people. One was a short, surly looking man in the same gear as Lazlo, and the other was a woman with a shaved head and a very pregnant belly.

"Haimes, Tom Tom, this is the new blood." Lazlo said, waving in Boomtown's direction, "Boomtown this is Haimes, gate guard like me. And Tom Tom. You'll be replacing her when her brat comes and she abandons us for motherhood." This earned him a smack round the head from the pregnant woman, but she smiled at Boomtown and said, "Welcome to Avalon, kid. Hope it treats you well." Haimes, the surly gate guard said, "Yeah. Congrats on not kickin' it. You earned people a lotta bottlecaps for that. Not me though. I lost hunner-fifty to this asshole here" he jerked his head at Lazlo, who looked a little sheepish. Boomtown frowned and said, "What d'you mean?" Haimes shrugged and said, "We was makin' bets on whether that Yao Guai had done you in. Most of us were betting on your demise…"

"Anyway!" Lazlo said loudly, as Tom Tom rolled her eyes, "Why don't we stop standin' out here and go get some grub. I'm fuckin' starvin'." Lazlo promptly began t hustle Haimes towards the mess hall door, and Boomtown and Tom Tom followed on behind. Lazlo swung the door open and immediately, the loud chatter hit them, the music playing from radios, laughter and the smell of oil and food and people. Boomtown ground to an involuntary halt as Lazlo and Haimes entered the hall.

Tom Tom stopped next to Boomtown and said, "You ok, kid?" Boomtown glanced around the packed hall, and then at her. "Yeah," he said, voice laced with false bravado, "O' course." Tom Tom put her hand on his good shoulder and said, "You stick with us, kid. You'll be ok."

Tom Tom guided him to a table, where Lazlo and Haimes already sat, with bowls of stew for all four of them. Boomtown lowered himself onto the bench and began to eat hungrily. For a few minutes there was silence at the table, as the hungry raiders ate their fill of stew. After a while, Haimes dropped his spoon into his empty owl with a clatter, and asked, "So how's that prick Dandy treating you?"

Boomtown took a moment to ponder the question, stirring his dinner with his spoon, and then said, "He's a real good sniper." For some reason, this earned snorts of laughter from everyone else at the table. Boomtown glanced between them and said, "What?" Tom Tom shook her head in amusement and said, "No, you're right, he is a good sniper. Go on." Boomtown shrugged and said, "Well… he's not really as friendly as everyone else here." Haimes pulled a box of cigarettes from the pocket of his pants, and tapped the bottom of it, sliding a cigarette out into his hand. He put it in his mouth and lit it with a shiny flip lighter, before saying, "That's the fuckin' understatement of the century." Boomtown raised an eyebrow and looked to Tom Tom, who shrugged and said, "Dandy ain't exactly a sweetheart, that's for sure."

"Oh," said Boomtown, looking down into his dinner, "But y'all are all so nice. Why ain't he?" Tom Tom opened her mouth to answer but Lazlo beat her to it, saying casually, "Ah well, it's probably 'cause of all that shit that went down with that Eli Sloane kid."

Now, to Boomtown this seemed like a perfectly reasonable answer, which warranted more questions. But it obviously wasn't that to the other two. Haimes immediately punched Lazlo in the arm and hissed, "Keep your fuckin' mouth shut, Lazlo, you jackass," While Tom Tom's smile became rather fixed and she stared quite pointedly at Boomtown. He stared right back at her. He recognised the look on her face. She was telling him, _don't. Don't ask. Pretend you didn't hear that. Best for everyone if you forget you heard that._ So Boomtown nodded, once, and Tom Tom's smile softened and she quickly changed the subject, asking to see Boomtown's gun. No one mentioned Dandy again that evening.

Late that night, when most of The Good Boys were asleep, Boomtown lay awake in his new bunk. The dormitory where most of the raiders slept was lit bright by moonlight and the sound of snoring raiders rang softly through the air. Boomtown noticed that six bunks were empty. One for each of the two gate guards. Four for the snipers in the corners of the town. Dandy wasn't in bed, still up on his belly on that roof. Boomtown rolled over in his bed. He had a name, a name for why Dandy was as cold as he was. Eli Sloane. Boomtown knew he should leave it alone. He had no reason to jeopardise his new place in Avalon, and Tom Tom had made it very clear earlier that this was a subject that shouldn't be pursued. But Boomtown was sick of places with secrets. He was sick of not having the whole story. He decided that he couldn't live peacefully in Avalon until he knew who Eli Sloane was, and what exactly he had done to make Dandy the only walled off person in a town of open arms.


End file.
